Special Needs Team Bus Roadeo Has Georgia on Its Mind Te team of Laura Leitch and Kenny Moss of Fulton
County (Ala.) Schools took top honors in the 15th National Special Needs Team Safety Roadeo on March 10. A team from Georgia also placed third. Leitch fought back tears when NAPT President Alexandra
Robinson called their names, and Leitch said it felt great to be recognized in their first appearance on the national stage. In fact, it was only the second roadeo competition ever for the two school bus drivers. Nicole Dolce and Randall Price from First Student in Syracuse, N.Y., came in second place, while Rhonda Fiddler and Dale Roberts of Cherokee Public Schools in Canton, Ga., placed third. During the roadeo, Leitch played the role of the aide while
Moss was the driver. Moss said it felt “awesome” to win. Be- sides the top awards, including a plaque from event sponsor Sure-Lok/Q’Straint, he said he appreciated learning new procedures for securing and managing students with special needs as well as networking with the other 25 other teams. Each year this roadeo is held in conjunction with the Na-
tional Conference & Exhibition on Transporting Students with Special Needs & Preschoolers. It has been co-admin- istered by NAPT and the Edupro Group, which sold the national conference to STN Media Group last month.
SafeGuard XChange Seat to Be Standard Feature in Collins
Bus Line Collins Bus Corp. an-
nounced the SafeGuard XChange seat will be standard on all Collins, Mid Bus and Corbeil model Type A school buses. Te XChange seat al- lows school bus operators to convert a base bench seat into one with three-point lap/shoulder belts or with the SafeGuard Integrated Child Seat. IMMI first introduced its con- vertible SafeGuard seat last April to school districts and bus companies that need to purchase new buses today but may need to install lap/shoulder belts tomorrow under new school board or state regulations. Collins is the first school bus OEM at this writing to make the
XChange a standard feature following the implementation of NHTSA’s revised FMVSS 222 school bus passenger protection rule that requires lap/shoulder belts on all newly manufactured buses 10,000 pounds or less GVWR. Te final rule took effect last October. “Providing cost-effective, upgradable seating solutions to our
customers — and throughout the industry — simply makes sense,” said Kent Tyler, president of Collins.
BIZ BITES: Bus
Leonard Bus Sales’ Saratoga Springs, N.Y., facility.
Trans Tech added
Wol f ing ton Body Co. in Mt. Holly, N.J., as its newest dealer.
Wolfington Body Co. will offer the full Trans Tech Bus line, including the new all-electric eTrans school bus ... IC Bus dealer Leonard Bus Sales, Inc. (LBS) opened a full-service facility on Dec. 16 in the W.J. Grande Industrial Park in Saratoga Springs, N.Y., that features 32,000 square feet of space. Tis facility provides bus sales, service and parts and replaces a former facility in Mechanicville, N.Y. ... Onspot of North America announced the expansion of its factory in North Vernon, Ind., after acquiring the three-acre parcel right next door, including a 7,400-square- foot building ... Blue Bird Corp. was the only American school bus manufacturer to attend an exhibition on school buses held in Beijing last month. Te company said it is exploring partnerships with local companies, but no final agreements had
been reached at this writing ... British transport firm National Express Group’s stated that its
full-year profit rose on
strong performance at its U.S. school bus and U.K. coach divisions. Full-year
pretax
profit rose to £180.2 million ($285.41 million), from £160.5 million pounds a year ago, and revenue rose 5 percent to £2.24 billion ($3.5 billion) ... Te National Association for Pupil Transportation (NAPT) announced “Put on Your Blue Suede Shoes” as the theme of its 2012 Summit in Memphis, Tenn., this fall. NAPT also announced a new group membership option with group pricing levels that will provide easier access to member benefits ... First Student Inc. recently received a Flag of Freedom Award from Missouri Gov. Jay Nixon for hiring military veterans returning from overseas.
Blue Bird at Chinese school bus exhibit.
www.stnonline.com 15
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